Walk aims to open communication about suicide

Lisa Smith knows about suicide and the effects it can have on the family.

In November 2010, Smith’s 19-year-old daughter, Felicia, had decided to stay with her grandmother in Oklahoma, where the family had visited during the Thanksgiving holidays. Smith and her daughter had spoken several times during the week.

A week after Thanksgiving, however, Smith got a call from Felicia’s grandmother.

“Felicia’s gone,” the grandmother said.

Felicia had committed suicide by hanging herself.

Smith, who had lost a brother to suicide in 1977, was devastated. There was no warning, no note left behind, just the intense pain of losing a loved one.

The people left behind, and those contemplating suicide, have inspired CONTACT Lubbock Inc., a suicide crisis prevention and intervention center, to sponsor the first Suicide Prevention Walk for Saturday at McCullough Park.

And that’s why Smith, a Shallowater resident, is involved with the walk.

“A lot of people are affected by suicide,” Smith said, “but it is such a taboo subject that no one talks about it. I hope this gets the word out about talking about suicide.”

Participants will walk one lap around the park — about eight-tenths of a mile — in memory of someone lost to suicide or to raise awareness about suicide prevention. There will also be a wall of remembrance available to display photos of loved ones lost to suicide.

“To help prevent suicides we need open, honest communication,” said Sharron Davis, executive director of CONTACT Lubbock Inc. She said she hopes the walk is a more effective way to reach out to people who have lost loved ones to suicide and who might not know that organizations like CONTACT Lubbock exist.

Smith said she has shared her story numerous times and will participate in the walk Saturday. She hopes the gathering can help others deal with the effects of devastating events losing those they love.

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"Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own." Jonathan Swift "I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members." Groucho Marx

Suicide is the number 3 cause of death in 15-24 year olds, behind automobile accidents and homicides.

When looking at sexual orientation, individuals identified or identifying as members of the LGBT community attempt suicide up to 4x more often than individuals identified or identifying as other sex-oriented.

When looking at social factors impacting suicides and suicide attempts, rates for teens are higher in more conservative areas in general, and rates for LGBTs are even higher.

More awareness of the stresses young people are suffering from, such as bullying, along with greater support, intervention, and acceptance of young people for who they are would probably go a long way toward reducing these rates.